Milwaukee Leadership

Meralis Hood, Vice President and Executive Director

Meralis Hood serves as the leader of City Year Milwaukee as the Vice President & Executive Director. In this role,she maintains and reinforces strong and strategic relationships with Milwaukee Public Schools, City Year Milwaukee’s Board of Trustees, corporate and philanthropic partners, and the wider community.

Meralis joined City Year Milwaukee in December 2015 serving as the managing director of impact. She is a part of the 2017 LEAD Cohort for City Year, Inc, an internal program aimed to sustain a culture of continuous talent investment aimed at accelerating the organization's growth and cultivating future site leadership. Prior to joining City Year Milwaukee, she was the assistant principal at Bay View High School in Milwaukee Public Schools, a City Year partner school. Hood served as a bilingual teacher for nine years at MPS before moving into instructional coaching and administrative roles in the district.

Hood was born and raised in Milwaukee after her mother was recruited from Puerto Rico to serve as a bilingual educator in the city. After graduating from Hamilton High School and earning her undergraduate degree from Marquette University, Hood followed in her mother's footsteps and became a teacher in Milwaukee Public Schools. She has a master’s of science in curriculum and instruction from University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s of education in educational leadership and administration from National Louis University.